The patriarch of one of Asia’s richest families has appointed his son co-CEO of the family office amid succession uncertainty.
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Billionaire Henry Cheng, 77, best known for his jewellery and property development interests, has promoted his son Christopher to co-CEO and head of North Asia investments. The family has an estimated $22.1 billion fortune, according to Forbes.
Christopher is the fourth of Cheng’s six children. At least nine family members work in the group’s network of businesses, including eldest son Adrian, CEO of flagship property firm New World Developments, and eldest daughter Sonia Cheng, CEO of Rosewood Hotel Group.
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Christopher will serve as co-CEO of family office Chow Tai Fook Enterprises alongside Patrick Tsang, an in-law who will oversee investments in the Americas, Australia and Europe, and outside talent Gilbert Ho, who will be head of corporate functions and operations. All three currently hold senior management positions within the family-owned group.
‘I am excited to continue to grow the office with the appointment of the three leaders whom I have worked closely with in different fields of the business,’ Henry Cheng said in a statement, according to finewsasia.
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‘Our investment philosophy is to create a lasting legacy of positive impact, and to drive transformative results for our investees, our employees, our community, and for the countries in which we operate.’
Henry Cheng succeeded his late father, Cheng Yu-tung, as chairman of the flagship firms Chow Tai Fook Jewellery and New World Development.
The diverse nature of the family’s holdings means they impact large swathes of public life in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and further afield. Interests include conglomerate NWS Holdings, which owns businesses including toll roads, insurance, logistics, construction and facilities management, and New World Department Store China, a holding company for department stores in Mainland China.
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Henry, who remains active in the running of the family office and businesses, made headlines in late 2023 when he suggested that he had yet to choose a successor. Up until then, it had been assumed that Adrian, as the eldest son, was being groomed to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
‘I’m still observing but I think it’s not so easy to identify such a person,’ Henry Cheng said in a television interview. He added that if ‘there is no suitable family member, we can hire from outside.’
Succession remains a major topic among observers of several of the world’s richest families, including LVMH dynasty the Arnaults, as patriarchs begin to age out of day-to-day operations.
